Lupicia’s fruity teas tend to be the standard by which I measure all others – I love their strong scents and sweet, juicy flavours – and most of all the fact that said scents and flavours hardly ever hit artificial notes. They’re such happy, friendly teas.
Sometimes, however, I want a tea that is somewhat more subdued in the flavour department, with a high-quality green base and a mellower fruit note. In terms of vanilla, Le Palais des Thés managed to maintain this balance very nicely in their Thé vert à la vanille, and I was excited to see how La Poire would fare.
In the bag, the pear is a perfect, natural pear, with a strong presence of green leaf – I found myself enjoying how intricately the two intermingle, to the extent that the usual three-sniff approach turned into more of a tensniffer.
In the cup, it’s equally satisfying. It’s a beautiful green laced with pear – the fruit is neither omnipresent nor static, bur rather surprises you at each sip; sometimes fully there, sometimes more elusive.
Like in the case of Kusmi’s lemon-ginger, I will remain on the lookout, but until I find the pear tea that renders all others obsolete, this will be my staple.
[Purchased at Le Palais des Thés in Tel Aviv, June 2013.]
85 C, 1 min 30